Heriot-Watt researchers are gearing up for Explorathon!

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European Researchers’ Night, known as Explorathon in Scotland, is back with a jam-packed program of live events, on-demand content, and downloadable activities and resources.  

In 2019, we engaged with 22,000 people across Scotland through events in public spaces, with around 900 researchers taking part in the activities. This year will of course look very different as the program moves entirely online, with Zoom workshops, Twitter-takeovers, and Facebook Live events from Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 November, all involving researchers from Edinburgh’s four universities. 

Kicking of Explorathon on Saturday 21 November, women in research from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh compete with one another to inspire the audience and prove they have The XX Factor.

On Monday 23 and Saturday 28 November, researchers from Heriot-Watt University and Queen Margaret University will be on Facebook Live talking about their work at ChatSci.

Then on Tuesday 24 November, tune in to PechaKucha, meaning “chit chat” in Japanese, to hear Dr Maria Garraffa from Heriot-Watt University and PhD student Madeleine Heep from Edinburgh University tell their research stories using 20 images in only 400 seconds. 

Researchers from all over Scotland will also be taking over Twitter with the Scottish Research Showcase on Friday 27 November – a digital science festival at #GlobalScienceShow offering non-stop content all day!

The week concludes with The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, with each show featuring three academics, one comedian and 60 minutes of rapid fire research all streaming live via the Stand Comedy Club’s YouTube channel.

The Explorathon website also features several Edinburgh based research centres and institutes and provides access to a range of content such as videos, podcasts, and downloaded activities. Heriot-Watt University has three feature pages, the first showcasing bite sized videos of our researchers talking about their work, the second contains content about the magic of 2D crystals from the Atomic Architects, and the third showcases research at the Lyell Centre. Also featured are pages from Mental Health Data Science Scotland, the Scottish Seabird Centre, and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Science and Engineering, and the Institute of Genetic and Molecular Medicine.

For more information and to book online events visit www.explorathon.co.uk, and keep up to date by following Explorathon (@ernscot) on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

#EXPLORATHON20 is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 955376. It is a partnership between the Universities of Aberdeen, St Andrews, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt, who organise events throughout Scotland. In Edinburgh, events are coordinated by the Beltane Public Engagement Network.